Woman, dog rescued after fall in north Ajax

Pickering fire department

AJAX -- A woman and her dog had to be rescued after they slipped down a steep hill at the Greenwood Conservation Area.

The incident happened at about 5:20 p.m. on Tuesday, March 25 in the leash-free area on Church Street in north Ajax.

“Apparently, there was an ice issue” that caused the woman and dog to go down the hill, Ajax Deputy Fire Chief Michael Gamba said.

“We called in Pickering Fire, because they do rescue with ropes,” Mr. Gamba added. “They came in and helped the woman and the dog.”

Pickering Fire Services Platoon Chief Rick Ingram said the woman was walking on a trail when her dog began sliding towards an embankment.

“She also couldn’t stop sliding.”

The woman went down the bank in a sitting position and stopped herself by grabbing a tree about 30 feet down the hill. Mr. Ingram added the bottom of the ravine was another 30 to 40 feet below the woman.

The woman had a cellphone and was able to call her mother, who in turn called 911, Mr. Ingram noted.

Where she fell was between 400 to 500 feet back in the woods and firefighters had to carry in their gear.A firefighter tethered to a rope went down the embankment to bring the woman back up. It took firefighters about 20 to 25 minutes to get the woman and dog up the hill, Mr. Ingram said.

“The trail sloped down and that’s why the dog started to slide and the woman followed and went down,” Mr. Ingram said.

She was taken to hospital with a possible broken wrist and abrasions.

The dog also needed help getting up the hill, Mr. Ingram noted.

The woman’s mother came to the scene and took care of the dog while the woman was taken to hospital.

“She was a very calm and thankful person. It probably couldn’t have gone any smoother than it did,” Mr. Ingram said of the rescue.

“The bonus was she had a cellphone and the second bonus was she was on a steep hill and didn’t drop her phone,” Mr. Ingram added.